If you were to ask Charlie if she were sulking, she'd say of course not. She was merely refusing to help in setting up the camp in protest because she wanted absolutely no involvement in the episode. She sat on the tan rock ledge dusted with a light coat of dirt, arms crossed over her chest. The tent Sokka was wrestling with from the inside to set up casted a small area of shadow from the afternoon sun which she sat under. Charlie stared out evenly at the distance where she could already see the Great Divide.
The glare had been etched onto her face ever since Aang decided it would be fun to visit the site. Maybe she was overreacting.
"Charlie, aren't you going to help?" Katara asked, finally returning from the base of the hill they'd set up camp on with a bundle of sticks in her arms.
Charlie blinked at her once. "No." She'd been blunt with them all day, which was unusual given she generally didn't stop talking.
Seeing how the waterbender's face twitched in irritation, Charlie shuffled to turn her back to the girl.
"Um, aren't you forgetting the tarp?" Katara asked her brother, already aggravated by her.
Sokka looked down at the wrapped tart at his feet. "Right, got it," he said, promptly grabbing it and throwing it inside the opening of the tent.
"You're supposed to put it on top of the tent, you know, so we don't get rained on?" she drawled out.
"Ordinarily, you'd be right," he began with a shrug. "But seeing how it's the dry season, you're not. Besides, that tarp makes a pretty warm blanket."
"But what if it does rain?" she pressed.
"What if it doesn't? Then I would have put it up for nothing."
"Charlie, will it rain today?" Katara asked with a cocky grin and raised eyebrows, trying to prove her point. Sokka also gave her a look that matched his sisters.
She glared at the two. "I don't predict the weather."
Both of their faces twitched.
Katara snapped, arms tightening around the sticks she'd collected. "Ugh, you're both so infuriating!"
"Katara, how about you stick to gathering the firewood, because that kindling's looking pretty sorry."
"Well if you don't like my firewood—" Katara threw the bundle at her brother, letting them crash into him before falling to the ground.
"Fine by me! If you're not gonna do your job—" Sokka ripped off the rope which held the tent together, making it collapse in on itself.
It was terrible timing, but Aang finally decided to make his return, finding himself positioned between three angry teens glaring daggers at each other. "Okay guys, I got the grub if you guys—" He cut himself off when Katara and Sokka spun away from each other with arms crossed and noses upturned, and Charlie stopped looking over her shoulder with a huff. "Hey, where's the campfire? And what happened to the tent?"
"Why don't you ask Ms Know It All, Queen of the Twigs," Sokka offered in a mutter.
"Oh yeah?" Katara pushed, spinning back around. "Well, you're Mr Lazy Bum, King of the…" She ducked down to grab a discarded stick, punting it at the back of her brother's head. "Tents!" Sokka let out a yelp when it hit, flailing his arms in the air as he turned back to glare at Katara.
"Your wit astounds me Katara," Charlie drawled out lazily, slinging her arm over her knee. She didn't have to turn around to know the waterbender was glaring daggers at the back of her skull.
"Okay guys, harsh words aren't gonna solve any of your problems." Aang peered over at Charlie, who sat silently with a darkened expression. "And neither will no words at all." She pursed her lips and glanced back over her shoulder at the kid too wise for his age. She used that statement lightly—after all, he was technically a one-hundred-and-twelve-year-old man—but to her, Aang was just a boy. "Why don't you just switch jobs? Katara, you can set up the tent, Sokka, you can collect the firewood, and Charlie—" He stopped himself short, watching as she cocked an eyebrow. "Youuuuu cannnnn, uh… go with one of them?"
Charlie rolled her eyes, but never-the-less stood up, brushing off the red dirt that stuck to the denim she wore. "Works for me. Sokka, wait up."
Sokka—having already begun walking away from the camp—slowed to a stop and looked over his shoulder in slight surprise as he patiently waited for her to catch up. "You didn't want to help Katara?"
She scoffed lightly, nodding her head in the waterbenders direction. "Would you wanna be standing anywhere in her general vicinity right now?" Simultaneously glancing at the girl, they found Katara still with her face red in anger, jamming the tent pole through one fabric fold only for it to violently burst from the other side, consequently stabbing at least three inches into the rock below.
"Point taken," Sokka nodded. They fell into step with each other while making their way down the mountain side where the trees began, Charlie was gifted with the all-important job of holding the sticks he meticulously chose. Something about how he needed both hands free at all times to properly inspect the quality of the wood, which Charlie only scoffed at while calling him a nerd.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Sokka had begun, briefly pausing to look at her with another stick still held up close to his eyes.
"Of course it is. I know you still geek out over the Kyoshi Warriors. Justified of course, but is the shrine really necessary?"
"Wha—just because I have a spare bag dedicated to my uniform it doesn't really classify as a shrine—"
"It may as well, I mean you practically worship that thing. Don't think I didn't notice you embroider it with flowers after Katara taught you to sew."
"Those were supposed to be warrior fans and they're deadly weapons!"
She couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as he ranted about the benefits of the weapons in trained hands. Of course, Charlie internally agreed with his points, but couldn't resist the debate. It was only when they began walking back up the side of the mountain that she began to remember the context of the episode that would definitely prove to be extremely boring. She truthfully didn't know how she made it through the first time, and that was only a twenty-four-minute episode anyway. This time it would be more like twenty-four hours. How fun.
Maybe she was being overly harsh, but Charlie didn't do well when she was bored. As an only child, she'd learnt to keep herself busy growing up, and there were only rare occasions where she was truly bored out of her mind. Her dad was always energetic too, so it filled the friendless void she'd come to know growing up.
"Charlie? You listening?" Sokka's voice cut through suddenly, and Charlie blinked.
"Hmm? Oh sorry, sometimes I tune out when other people talk," she joked, pushing those emotions deep, deep down.
"I was just saying how it's so stupid that Katara actually put up the tarp," he complained to her as they reached the campsite, where it was indeed set up over their tent. Charlie thought it was kind of strange, considering they rarely used tents anyway. She didn't even know they had a tent.
"Why was this an issue again?" Charlie asked casually.
"Because the probability that it's gonna rain during the dry season is so low! We'd be wasting our energy putting it up." She could practically see the gears turning in his head the seconds before he turned to her with a bright childish grin. "Hey, you're psychic!"
"That I am. I'm glad you've finally agreed, I only wish we had more witnesses for this though so I could hold it over your head for the rest of your life. Anyways, continue?"
"Is it gonna rain tonight?"
Charlie's eyes narrowed. "I'm not a meteorologist, how am I supposed to know that? Nothing's changed from when Katara asked like an hour ago."
"Ehh it was worth a shot." Charlie let out a struggled sigh for a moment before shoving the bundle of sticks to Sokka's chest, where he fumbled with them for a moment. She dramatically held two fingers against her temple, giving a dramatic hum.
"Oh great universe. Will it rain today?" she asked, voice monotonous and dry while pausing for a moment of dramatic effect. Really, she took that time to play through the episode at twenty times speed in her mind before dropping her hand and looking back at Sokka. "Answer's no. It won't rain, and you're welcome."
"Wait are you serious? It's not gonna rain? And you're one-thousand percent sure?" Sokka asked, eyebrows shooting upwards into his ponytail, which he insisted against actually being a ponytail.
"The universe is never wrong, Sokka. Neither am I, remember that for the next time I give my opinion on something and you conveniently no longer believe in my psychic abilities," she said, pointing at him knowingly.
He rolled his eyes dramatically as they finally returned to the campsite, rejoining with Katara and Aang. The rest of the night was spent huddled around the campfire while eating through their food supply, mostly cured meats and fruits they collected. Aang didn't join them in the tent, preferring to sleep outside and using his Airbending to warm the air around him—something Charlie found extremely awesome. Sokka, Katara and Charlie slept in the tent within their own sleeping bags. She still didn't understand why they had the tent out, but it was definitely more comfortable than sleeping on the ground.
It was a tight squeeze to fit them all in—having to play a game of Human Jenga until they found the most comfortable position. Sokka was on the far right, Charlie the far left, and Katara was in between, however slept with the bottom of her sleeping bag near the top of theirs.
The next morning they'd awoken with the sunrise, packing up camp and being pushed onto Appa by an ecstatic airbender. Charlie dragged her feet, wanting desperately to not have to live through the episode. Aang, however, was blissfully unaware of her displeasure, blasting her onto Appa's saddle with a stream of air. They didn't have to fly for long to reach their destination.
"We're almost here guys!" Aang cheered, throwing his arms over the lip of the saddle from where he stood on Appa's head. "I can't wait for you to see it, it's the biggest canyon in the Earth Kingdom."
"Or—" Charlie began, holding up a finger. "We could keep flying. I have this crushing fear of canyons, you know, it's really bad. Like I see one and suddenly I'm having an existential crisis about how insignificant I am in the world. We could easily avoid that right now if we just wanted to fly over it instead. I've heard the best point of view is from a bird's eye, massive peripherals—have you seen their visual fields? Up to three-hundred degrees which is essential for survival against predator species."
During her rant, she hadn't realised everyone had gone silent and was staring at her—Katara seemed a little annoyed because she clearly wanted to see the canyon, Aang looked somewhat worried, and Sokka had his mouth hanging open slightly with the corners of his lips turned upwards, a mixture of shock and amusement.
"I learnt that one from the Discovery Channel," she joked, throwing a lopsided smile to Sokka. He only let out an entertained breath and shook his head slightly, looking out over the canyon where they slowly came closer to the cliff. She didn't expect him to understand half the things that were coming out of her mouth—hell, she barely knew what she was talking about half the time—but at least someone found her funny.
"You're so weird," he stated, the wind blowing his ponytail upwards as Appa came to a quick landing.
"And you're a nerd, so—" Charlie ended her argument with a shrug, as if that was all she needed to say for her point to be true.
Momo was the first to jump off Appa, shooting straight into the air and performing a loop, followed by Aang and Katara. Sokka lifted himself over the edge of the saddle, holding onto the lip and preparing to drop to the ground when he hesitated. "Hey, I don't wanna be here either, I mean it's just a pile of rocks. But you look really, really annoyed," he said pointedly, pressing his feet into Appa's side to stop him slipping. "Like you've had this constipated look on your face since we left Jet. And I know his presence has that effect on people but—"
Charlie cut him off with a raise of her hand. "I'm fine Sokka, don't think too hard about it. You might overwork your brain, it can only take so much."
"Okay good. That's good—I was just checking," he said, nodding his head. Charlie gave him a weird look, raising an eyebrow.
"Come on man, I just insulted you and all you care about is my wellbeing?" she commented dryly. "That's so lame."
"You know what else is lame?" Sokka said. "You."
Charlie sent him a glare, then glanced down at his hands which gripped the side of the saddle and kept him from falling. Without hesitation, she licked both of her hands and went to put them on top of his, only for him to pull away and let out a yelp as he fell to the ground. She let out a satisfied chuckle before jumping off the saddle herself.
"There it is guys—The Great Divide," Aang announces with a grin, letting Momo land on his shoulder.
"Wow," Katara breathed in awe. "I could just stare at it forever."
"Okay," Sokka said. "I've seen enough." He spun on his heels completely uninterested, walking back towards Appa.
Charlie was quick to follow in tow. "Perfect! Let's go before the existential crisis hits." She pressed her hands against Appa's side, her arms buried deep beneath his fur as she gave him an encouraging push that left her feet sliding across the dirt-covered rocks. The bison only groaned his disapproval, remaining unaffected by Charlie's attempts.
A loud and painfully annoying voice pierced through the air from behind, catalysing the migraine behind her eyes. "Hey!" the boy exclaimed in his awfully naisily tone. "If you're looking for the Canyon Guide, I was here first!"
Charlie planted her face into Appa's fur to muffle the groan she let out.
"Ooh, a Canyon Guide?" Katara questioned, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she clapped her hands together. "Sounds informative." For the next few minutes, they entertained him while Charlie took the opportunity to tune them out and stand with her face buried in Appa's side. She didn't really know what was going on until she heard Katara state, "You're a refugee!"
The guy scoffed condescendingly, turning his nose up. "Tell me something I don't know," he snided.
"Frogs can't swallow with their eyes open." When all eyes shot to her, Charlie blinked unmoving, her face blank. Sokka looked at her somewhat dumbfounded with narrowed eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. "True fact."
"Is that your tribe?" Katara asked suddenly, pointing into the distance where a cluster of people donned in dark brown and red tunics flocked towards the cliff.
With clenched fists and a sour expression, he exclaimed, "It most certainly is not! That's the Zhang tribe, a bunch of low-life thieves—"
Charlie tuned out again. She turned around, leaning her back against Appa instead and crossing one leg over the other. By the time she started listening again, Aang had cracked his pacifist exterior and was yelling orders to both tribes.
"You're all going down together and Appa here will fly your sick and elderly across!" she heard him say, his voice carrying through the canyon. "Does that seem fair?!"
Both tribe leaders shared a disgruntled expression at the suggestion, but hesitantly agreed regardless. Charlie realised she hadn't spoken in a while and wanted to contribute to the conversation.
"I'll preface this by saying I think this is a terrible idea," she quipped flippantly, re-joining the group at Sokka and Katara's sides. Her concerns went unnoticed by most as Aang rounded up the sick and elderly, guiding them to climb onto Appa's tail to make climbing into the saddle easier. "Seriously, do we have to be involved in this one?"
"Aang, Charlie might be right," Sokka began, walking up to the airbender. "This feuding stuff is serious business, are you sure this is a good idea?"
"I don't know Sokka. But I can't stand by and do nothing when I could at least try to help them," he said softly, taking a glance at the ground below. His gloom didn't last for long though, as he looked back up with a wide grin. "But when have I ever been sure of anything?"
Katara placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He's the Avatar, guys. Making peace between people is his job."
"But he's a kid, first," Charlie added, her voice steady. Aang gave her an appreciative smile, to which she gave him a slightly awkward pat on the head.
Her attention was briefly taken away by a chorus of complaints and angry groans from both tribes about not being allowed to bring food into the canyon. Charlie rolled her eyes and scoffed slightly, looking back to Aang who gave Appa a pat under his horn. "See you on the other side, buddy."
"Take me with you," Charlie whispered in desperation to the bison.
"Yip yip!" She could only watch longfully as Appa rose and began his trip over the canyon. With a sigh, she turned around to find Sokka giving her an amused look. "What?" she demanded with slight hostility, defensively folding her arms over her chest.
"Nothing," he flippantly remarked, holding his palms up in surrender.
"Right-o everyone! Your ten minutes are up, so that food better be in your gut or in the garbage!" the guide announced from his rock pedestal, hands cupping his mouth.
"Come on, Charlie," she muttered to herself. "If you're being forced to live out this disappointment of an episode, the least you can do is not make it suck. And who cares if you mess up the ending, this is a damn filler anyways."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what any of that means."
Charlie looked at him semi-surprised. She hadn't realised he'd been listening, or even that she'd said that all out loud. "Good." She turned back to both tribes, cupping her mouth with one hand. "Hey losers! I know you all have food with you, so give it up now or no one's crossing this damn canyon!" Seeing no one make a move, Charlie rolled her eyes and continued. "I'm not stupid. And I know one of you's packed an egg custard tart, as if that's not gonna spoil."
"H—how did you know?" one of the Zhang spluttered out, pulling said egg custard tart out of his bag. The entire Gan Jin tribe gasped in offence, earning a glare from Charlie.
"Oh shut up, I know you still have food too," she jeered before holding two fingers to her temple. "And I'm psychic, that's how."
"Everyone was trying to smuggle food down there? Unbelievable!" Aang cracked, an involuntary blast of air covering the ground as he slammed his staff down.
"I've got half a mind not to bring any of you down. I warned you bringing food would attract dangerous predators, you would have endangered us all!" the guide exclaimed in his gruff voice. "Have you anything to say for yourselves?"
"We… we only kept it because we thought the Zhangs would try to smuggle food anyway," the Gan Jin leader began, eyes narrowing at the ground. "It wouldn't be fair for my people to go hungry while theirs didn't."
The Zhang leader's fists clenched. "We thought that the Gan Jins thought so badly of us, they probably assumed we'd bring food in and decided to bring food in themselves. That's why we kept it," she admitted, pulling her eyes away from the tribe. "Looks like we were right."
"So, all of this would have been because of a misunderstanding?" Katara said pointedly, her face clear with disappointment as she looked between the two leaders. Neither responded, opting to avoid eye contact and look everywhere but each other, clearly both feeling embarrassed by their assumptions. "I can't believe this. Apologise to each other now, or travel the Great Divide on your own."
Simultaneously, both leaders mumbled out their own versions of 'sorry'. It was almost childish.
"You guys aren't that different, you know," Charlie began casually, causing surprised looks to come her way. "I mean, clearly you both knew well enough what the other would do, you just made the wrong choices based on your preconceived notions about each other. And you were willing to put your own tribe in danger because of it. Is all of that worth some dumb feud that happened over one hundred years ago? Think about it guys, the story is so old, and I'm guessing isn't written down anywhere, so some parts have probably changed over time and become misunderstood."
"It's true!" Aang agreed, nodding frantically. "In fact, I knew Ghin Wai and Wai Ghin and—" Charlie cut him off with an elbow to the side. Perhaps a little harsh, given his slight wheeze, but she considered it a lesson learnt.
"Don't lie Aang," she ordered from the corner of her mouth.
"Sorry," he pouted.
With that, Charlie continued her rant. "I'm sure your tribes haven't always been enemies either, right? Can't you just… start over? Is it really that impossible?"
"I could never start over with those thieving tyrants."
"Ha! As if I'd want to make up with you either, you pompous—"
"Okay, have fun getting across the canyon yourselves, I'm sure you can work something out," Charlie taunted, flopping her wrist as a wave over her shoulder as she spun on her heel, slowly walking away. "Come on guys, let's head out."
"Maybe… Maybe we can rewrite history from here on out," the Gan Jin leader offered, looking somewhat pained as he spoke. The Zhang leader forced a weak smile, which looked more like a grimace. It wasn't much, but it was something. She turned back around, giving Sokka and Katara a cheerful double thumbs-up. Forced cooperation through establishing superordinate goals—always worked.
"Are you gonna eat that?" Aang questioned one of the Zhangs with wide eyes, pointing down to the egg custard tart.
"I suppose not—" Before he got to finish his sentence, the tart had vanished from his hands and the airbender sped away.
"Should I warn him that the tart is four weeks old?" Charlie wondered, leaving towards Sokka while she watched the boy duck around a stone.
Sokka hummed for a moment. "Nah, leave him be. He'll realise eventually."
"We should start walking, we're wasting daylight, people!" the guide announced, gesturing over his shoulder for everyone to follow him down the narrow path protruding from the cliffside. Aang popped back out from behind the rock, now tart-less, and bounced back over.
"Wow, this is so exciting," Charlie drawled satirically. "I can't wait to walk through the largest canyon in the world for an entire day. It's not like we had a flying bison to take us across or anything."
"Come on, Charlie! It'll be fun," Aang chirped, already in a better mood than earlier.
"Didn't you literally say—and I quote—'walking stinks' like four days ago?" she quipped with slight scepticism.
"Yeah, but that was four-days-ago me," Aang said with a boyish grin.
Charlie nodded thoughtfully, tucking her knuckles under her chin while she muttered to herself. "Oh I see. Continuity error, then. Because this world doesn't even exist."
Katara furrowed her brows slightly. "What was that?"
"The onset of that existential crisis I warned you all about. I wasn't lying, I feel miniscule right now. Like a Who on Horton's clover."
"A what?"
"No, a Who—you know what never mind."
She hadn't even realised she'd begun walking until the canyon guide held out his arm, gesturing for them all to stop. With some impressive footwork, he spun around and jutted his fist forward, pulling four squares of stone out of the wall and merging them together to act as a bridge over the gap in the pathway.
"Nice bending," Aang commented, jogging slightly to reach the guide's side.
"The job's much more than bending, kid. Folks want information." At the next gap in the cliff, the guide stopped and turned around to face the tribes. "Many of you are probably wondering how canyons are formed," he began, gesturing out over the divide. "Experts tell us that this canyon was most likely carved into the ground by earth spirits, who were angry at local farmers for not offering them a proper sacrifice."
"Or consistent weathering and erosion over millions of years," Charlie quipped. "But your thing could be right too. Not that I'm anti-spirits or anything—but science is also an equally viable answer." Seeing a surprised look from Sokka, she playfully added, "Discovery Channel."
Before he could respond, a rumble shook the ground and an avalanche of boulders fell from the top of the canyon wall. Everyone screamed out in fear, and Charlie threw her hands over her head and squatted to the ground. When a moment passed and the rumbling grew distant, she peeked through squinted eyelids to find the guide dropping from his Earthbending form after having redirected the falling rocks off the cliffside.
He let out a hearty laugh before turning back to face everyone. "Guess the spirits are still angry! Hope you all brought sacrifices."
From her squat on the ground, Charlie raised her hand lazily. "I nominate Sokka."
His wide eyes shot down to meet hers. "Wha—Charlie you can't just nominate me as a sacrifice!"
"Too late, it's already done, I don't know what to tell you." She stood up from her position, clapping a hand to his shoulder. "We'll miss you, buddy."
"No, no no no you can't do that—'cause I've already nominated you as the sacrifice," he said proudly, propping his hands on his hips.
Charlie sharply drew her hand back, throwing it across her chest. "How dare you double-cross me like this?"
The group began moving again, making their way down the cliffside and into the canyon. "Didn't you double-cross me first?" he bantered, unable to hide the smile growing on his face.
"Your right, your thing was like, a triple-cross, which is arguably way worse," Charlie replied, shaking her head and looking away to cover her own smile. "You totally just sold me out."
"Okay, everyone," the guide called out, gathering the tribes together as they reached the base of the canyon. "Stand clear of the wall!" With a grunt, he slid out his foot and punched into the air, sending the boulder next to him flying into the rock path they previously crossed. It came crumbling to the ground, surrounding them in a light cloud of dirt.
"Why'd you do that?" Aang asked with curiosity as the guide brushed his hands together.
"These people are fleeing the Fire Nation, aren't they? Gotta make sure we can't be followed. We'll be safe now."
Charlie braced herself, but after a calm moment passed and no canyon crawlers emerged from the settling dust, she relaxed her shoulders and let out a relieved breath of air, putting her hands on her hips. Catastrophe avoided.
"If we leave now, we should cover most of the canyon on foot by sunset," the guide continued, gesturing down one of the paths. "We'll set up camp, then walk the last stretch at daybreak."
Sunset couldn't have come any sooner. Both tribes had walked the same path, unlike in the original episode, and they'd argued the whole time. Thankfully it was only petty arguments and never escalated into a full battle-to-the-death—stuff like 'stop stepping on my shoes!' and 'then stop walking so slow in front of me!'—but she was beginning to see how she and Sokka could occasionally be found annoying.
The two had tried to distract each other with playful debates, although she could only talk for so long before she was both mentally and physically exhausted after walking for at least eight hours. By the end, she was dragging her feet in the dirt, leaving two long lines behind her. Sokka wasn't any better off, at one point lying flat on his back for a few minutes to rest before they'd decided the tribes had gone too far without them. They had to sprint so they wouldn't get lost, which effectively cancelled out the rest they had.
When they'd finally stopped to set up camp, the gang had encountered the problem of realising all their belongings were with Appa—sleeping bags, tent and all—leaving them unsheltered for the night. While the Zhangs and Gan Jins both offered them a spot in one of their tents, neither seemed particularly appealing, leaving the four to sit around the fire. Luckily, the Zhangs had tarps to spare and lent them to the teens as blankets, having not bothered to set them up. Charlie was tired and starving, but at least she wasn't cold.
After the sun had completely fallen underneath the horizon and the sky had darkened, some members of both tribes still remained awake and sitting around the fire. The Zhangs had even offered some of their tarps to the Gan Jins while they sat outside, almost like a peace offering. People sat on the dirt covered in the brown animal-skin tarps, laughing as they told the stories of Ghin Wai, Wai Ghin and the secret orb, how they had become so lost in translation after so many years.
For a short while, Charlie sat on her own, just enjoying the campfire. There was something weirdly wholesome about the night that made her feel at home. Whether really at home or homesick, however—she couldn't tell the difference. The crackle of the campfire made her think of her dad, wondering if he missed her, or if he even knew she was gone. Was her world continuing without her? Or was it just paused, awaiting her return? Charlie hoped it was the latter.
Aang was sitting next to the canyon guide, looking at him with eyes as wide as his smile while they talked about whatever they were talking about. Clearly, it was something interesting, judging by the eccentric hand gestures the guide was making.
Sokka and Katara were huddled together, talking about what seemed to be something serious. Katara was looking at her brother with a small, bittersweet smile, while Sokka sat with his legs propped slightly out, balancing his arms on his knees. He fiddled with his fingers—his nervous tick, she'd recognised. Charlie wondered if they were homesick too. It was their first time away from home, and they still had a long way to go, whether they knew it or not.
Katara said something softly, causing Sokka to recoil and flail his arms rapidly. Charlie chuckled a little bit at the antics she'd gotten so used to over the last few weeks and smiled into the fire, the radiant heat flushing her pale freckled cheeks a light red.
"I don't understand," the Zhang leader began her query, shuffling closer beside her. "You two have been arguing all day, how can you stand each other?" Charlie followed her eye line, finding her looking at Sokka from across the campfire where he and Katara talked casually again under the sound of fire crackling. He suddenly looked her way, seeming somewhat surprised to find her already looking over. Cracking a smile, Sokka gave her a small wave with his fingers while his forearm sat against his knee. Charlie's lips twitched upwards as she gave him a single nod, raising her head upwards slightly before looking back to the Zhang leader.
"I'm not sure how it looks to you guys, but we don't actually hate each other. Sure, we didn't get along for a while, and sometimes we argue for real, but right now Sokka's probably the closest thing I've had to a friend in years," she explained, voice uncharacteristically quiet. She'd begun to regret how childish she'd acted the day before, refusing to help set up camp and pulling the 'silent treatment' card just because of her bias about how she thought it would play out. But after actually having to experience it herself, she thought maybe it wasn't the worst episode after all.
Out of nowhere, a voice said, "Hey," from her other side. Charlie jumped slightly, but let out a small laugh when she found it was just Sokka who'd made his way over while she wasn't paying attention, a tarp tucked under his arm.
"Hey. What are you doing over here?" she asked casually putting her hands on the floor behind her to prop herself up.
"Oh, uhhh, Katara wouldn't stop talking about how the Gan Jins put their tarps up," he gestured towards where his sister was now chatting enthusiastically with said tribe leader, "so I thought I'd come over here instead." Watching how he fidgeted slightly, tapping his fingers rapidly against his thigh, she narrowed her eyes.
"Okayyy," Charlie dragged out slowly with slight suspicion. "Why are you being weird?"
"Weird? Me?" he answered quickly. "I'm not being weird, at least no more than usual."
They both stayed silent for a while, just staring at each other. He was definitely keeping something from her. Ordinarily his behaviour would have bugged her and she would have tried annoying the shit out of him until he spilled, but after an entire day of walking, Charlie was far too tired for that. Instead she shrugged lightly and turned back to the fire. Seeing that she wasn't going to pursue it anymore, Sokka let out a small sigh of relief before relaxing his shoulders and plopping down on the dirt next to her.
He spread the tarp over the two of them, letting it float down and settle. Charlie gave him a small, 'Thanks', rubbing her arms with her hands. Sokka didn't say anything for a while, only looking into the fire which reflected off his deep blue eyes.
"Sorry for being so angsty the last few days," Charlie said out of nowhere, clearly surprising Sokka judging by the expression on his face. "Today was supposed to go a lot worse than it did." She only realised she'd been worrying him after he'd confronted her 'constipated face' while on Appa earlier that day.
"Don't worry about it," he smiled lightly. "But you know… you can always tell me if somethings bothering you. Like if you have a vision that doesn't look too good, or just random everyday things. You don't need to fix everything on your own." He looked at her with an expression she didn't really recognise.
"Thanks, Sokka," she said, nodding earnestly.
Sokka swallowed heavily and nodded as well. "Of course. You're—you're my friend."
The two looked at each other for what felt like the longest time, but in reality, was only a few seconds. "It goes both ways. The—the friend thing, and if you need help." They shared a smile and looked back at the fire, listening to its pops and crackles fill the comfortable silence between them.
Soundtrack (also just a reminder that I have a Spotify playlist set up called 'koete soundtrack.' by Kim Pag, and I'd definitely recommend listening to the songs while reading)
Shangri-La by YACHT || Aang suggests everyone switches jobs at the campsite and the mood starts to pick up, until they go to sleep
Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis || They arrive at the Great Divide, the tribes come, argue and make up-ish
Little Lion Man by Pickin' On Series || Charlie gives a recap of the walk and the wholesome campfire scene. This song's a super cute cover that fits with the campfire vibes and the themes of regret, but also works well for the fluffy parts. If you're going to listen to any while reading, make it THIS ONE
This was the biggest pain to write, sorry if it's crappy. I tried to make it fun but it's the Great Divide so obviously not much I can do there—. As you can see, I kind of brushed over the whole plot and filled out all the blanks in the episode instead so it wouldn't be boring. I mean, you already know what happens so no need to transcribe the whole episode. Aaaand sorry this chapter took so long to get out too. I've been working a lot and watching Psych in my downtime, and I've totally been procrastinating on this chapter. But I'd definitely recommend Psych, fittingly it's about a guy pretending to be psychic.